May 22, 2012

According to neighborhoodscout.com Nashville, Tennessee has a population of 601,222 and a crime index of 4 – 100 being the safest. If you lived in Illinois you would have a 1 in 163 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime and if you lived in Nashville, Tennessee you would have a 1 in 85 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime. The FBI collects information from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies and that is where they get the figures for these statements. In the last year Nashville has had 55 murders, 370 rapes, 1,829 robberies and 4,780 assaults. For every one thousand resident there are 64 of them that will be a victim. Nashville has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes. According to neighborhoodscout.com Nashville is number 56 in the top 100 most dangerous cities to live in.

Wkrn.com reported on April 25, 2012 that in Nashville, Tenn. there was a measure that does require testing as a condition for receiving welfare and this measure was definitely passed in the Senate. There are many states that are looking and presenting this kind of measure but Tennessee has passed it in the senate. That means that this legislation requires new welfare applicants to undergo a special screening process. During this screening if any suspicions come up then the applicant would be drug tested. The measure was sponsored by Republican Senator Stacey Campfield of Knoxville and the vote was 24-9. One wonder where these folks will end up…let’s hope they would get help, as they would at rehabs in Louisiana.

This measure differs from an original one that would have required blanket testing. The state’s attorney general gave concerns about that approach and that it would be unconstitutional because it would violate applicants’ rights not to be drug tested unless there is suspicion they are using drugs. The bill that did pass the senate will go to the House Finance Committee for it to be voted on there. Whether or not it does, let’s hope that attention to the drug problems in our country leads some folks to get help from one of their local Tennessee drug rehabs.

As we discussed before many states are attempting to get this kind of measure passed so that those who need help are spending their dollars on food and necessities and not drugs. I do believe that is a fair judgment. There are some who apply for this assistance just to get some extra dollars to buy drugs. That is another way that drugs are harming us in our daily lives. If you know someone who wants to get off drugs get them to an inpatient treatment center or one of the inhalant abuse rehabs where they can get safe and natural ways to detox and withdraw. Something can be done about it.